When asked for information on how long the patient with TB had been staying at the hostel, HSE doctors who visited the centre last Friday would not say, according to the female resident. Their first step when the patient with TB arrived in hospital should have been to isolate the person until everyone else was checked. “The aim of contact tracing is to help identify any other TB cases early and to reduce illness among those who have been in contact with TB patients”, the HSE statement continued. “If a person is diagnosed with TB, the person is offered treatment as soon as possible. Most TB cases are caused by breathing in bacteria; only a small number of people who breathe in the TB germ get sick, it stated.

Source: The Irish Times October 25, 2019 00:00 UTC